Ephraim Longworth (2 October 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an

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international footballer for

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in the early part of the twentieth century. He was one of Liverpool's all-time greats, and was Liverpool's first ever

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Life and playing career

Longworth, born in

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Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ce ...

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, England, noted for his lock of hair, was comfortable in either the right or left-back berths. He joined

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...

in the first division of the Lancashire Combination in 1908 from

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and then moved to London, signing for Southern League club

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Rive ...

. It was here that Liverpool manager Tom Watson spotted his potential and signed him in 1910. He made his debut on 19 September 1910 in a

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game at

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, but Liverpool lost 2–0 to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

. Longworth went on to appear 371 times in a Red shirt scoring five goals for the

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

club; in fact he went on to play until he was 40 years old. One of Liverpool's all-time greats Ephraim has the distinction of being Liverpool's first ever captain of the England national team, when he was given the job in only his second appearance - a 2–0 against

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at the Oscar Bossaert Stadion,

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in 1921. His debut for the national side was in 1920 and was just as memorable, England fought back from 4-2 down to beat bitter rivals

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5–4 at

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. Longworth went on to gain 5 international

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, none of which England lost. During his time at

Longworth won back to back league titles in 1921-22 and 1922–23 and appeared in the 1-0

1914 FA Cup Final The 1914 FA Cup Final was a football match between Burnley and Liverpool on 25 April 1914 at Crystal Palace, London. It was the final match of the 1913–14 FA Cup, the 43rd season of the country's primary cup competition, the Football Associa ...

defeat to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

in front of the reigning King

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. Longworth's final game came 17½ years after his first appearance for the club, it came in a 2–0 defeat at

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...

against

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on 21 April 1928. After retiring in 1928 Longworth stayed on at Liverpool in a coaching role. Ephraim died in 1968 forever a Liverpool legend. In 2006 despite having been retired for almost 80 years, Longworth was voted in at 72nd place following a survey on Liverpool's website entitled '100 Players which Shook the Kop'.

Career details

*Liverpool F.C. (1910–1928) 371 appearances 2

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Championship medals ( 1921–22, 1922–23 ), (he played his last game as a 40-year-old) *England (1920–1923) 5 caps (Ephraim also captained his country, the first Liverpool player to do so)

References

External links

Player profile at LFChistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longworth, Ephraim 1887 births 1968 deaths England men's international footballers England men's wartime international footballers English men's footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff Leyton Orient F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Bolton